SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nextdoor (NYSE: KIND), the essential neighborhood network, today announced an integration with PowerOutage.us, an organization that collects, records, and aggregates live power outage data from utilities throughout the United States. Through this integration, neighbors on the platform will receive vital, hyper-local power outage alerts and information relevant to their communities, to help them be informed, prepared, and connected.
Rolling out now to neighbors across the country, this new feature alerts neighbors in the Nextdoor feed when a power outage is affecting their neighborhood. The alert will provide information that helps neighbors best navigate the outage, including the areas and the number of neighbors affected, the cause of the outage, and projected time until power is restored. Receiving these alerts on Nextdoor can help neighbors connect with local information and resources from the more than 6,000 public agencies on the platform, as well as neighbors who can provide or may need assistance. Neighbors who are directly impacted will also receive an email notification at the initiation of the power outage, and will be updated in-feed and via email when the outage is resolved.
“Driven by factors like increasingly extreme weather patterns and the growing pressures on local electrical grids, external data shows that weather-related power outages have increased by roughly 50% over the last 10 years,” said Jason Hwang, Business Development Lead at Nextdoor. “Through recent surveys, we’ve learned from our neighbors that access to time-sensitive information is a top reason people turn to Nextdoor. With this new feature, we’re excited to connect our neighbors with the timely, locally relevant information they need and want, particularly as we head into what is expected to be a volatile summer for weather.”
Predictions indicate that summer 2024 will bring unusually high temperatures and a more active than normal hurricane season, two key contributors to power outages in the US. While these outages are an inconvenience for all, they can also disrupt other local services like transportation and water, impact refrigeration and food safety, create serious issues for those dependent on medical devices, and contribute to health risks during episodes of extreme temperatures.
This announcement joins other features on Nextdoor that help neighbors and communities prepare for and recover from weather-related events. Last year, the platform announced a collaboration with The Weather Company, to share vital, hyper-local weather alerts from The Weather Channel, to neighbors on Nextdoor.
About Nextdoor
Nextdoor (NYSE: KIND) is the neighborhood network. Neighbors, businesses of all sizes, and public agencies in more than 335,000 neighborhoods across 11 countries turn to Nextdoor to connect to the neighborhoods that matter to them so that they can thrive. As a purpose-driven company, Nextdoor leverages innovative technology to cultivate a kinder world where everyone has a neighborhood they can rely on — both online and in the real world. Download the app or join the neighborhood at nexdoor.com. For more information and assets, visit nextdoor.com/newsroom.
